Nesting
by AHeartForStories
Summary: Post-Httyd 2. Astrid was certain Toothless was losing it. She was a human, so was Hiccup, and she was pretty sure the baby she was growing was human too. Toothless, however, seemed under the impression that he knew what was best.


_Written to break up all the whump I've been writing with some fluff. At the same time, this is my effort to bring some more Astrid and Toothless bonding into the franchise. We don't have enough of that. Astrid and Toothless are close friends too._

_Constructive criticism is appreciated!_

_Enjoy!_

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**Nesting**

Astrid was certain Toothless was finally losing it. She didn't know what the cause was, a tiny voice within told her Hiccup's shenanigans weren't to blame this time, but loss of mind was the only explanation to what she was seeing.

Sitting on a chair in their main living space wrapped in her white-furred cloak and holding a steaming bowl of stew, she watched as the Night Fury ran all across the house she shared with him and Hiccup.

As Toothless passed her, he sniffed all over the place, nose always close to the floor. It inevitably guided him to the kitchen and Astrid heard plates and cups fall as Toothless ransacked the place. It didn't take too long for Toothless to come back out, pulling a basket of fish and fruit bought on the market just yesterday to quite literally throw them out of the house. It took but a moment for Sharpshot to feast on the apparently abandoned food.

"Toothless, what are you..." Astrid found herself unable to finish her sentence as the Night Fury then set his eyes on the upstairs bedroom. She could see his gaze travel up to their loft.

He gave her a croon before ascending the stairs. It was quiet for a whole second or two and then Astrid found herself jumping when the sound of furniture being moved around reached her ears.

"Toothless?!" She called up to the loft, nearly losing the grip on her stew as her fur fell to the floor. It became kind of chilly after it fell.

"What are you doing up there?!" Calling up again, instead of receiving an answer, she saw the bed she shared with Hiccup be pushed down the stairs.

"Toothless Night Fury!" Enough of the dragon's mad antics, she pushed herself up from her chair and put the stew down. Stomping over, she came to stand near the stairway.

The bed now on the ground floor, Toothless purred up to her as he descended the rest of the steps.

"Don't purr at me! First, you throw out all the food and then you move the bed down the stairs? What're you doing?!" Astrid could question the Night Fury's motives all she wanted, Toothless gave her a simple croon and happily padded past her, giving her cheek a nudge before disappearing from the living space again.

Astrid wasn't sure why she was even trying anymore. It was clear the dragon didn't intend on listening or even explain what his intentions were.

Where was Hiccup when she needed him? She knew he was dealing with some feud between Spitelout and... whoever he decided to upset this time. She needed her husband to come home and whisper some sense into his dragon. He was rearranging the whole house.

It was just as the thought made its way into her mind that Toothless came by again with a heap of furs, every single one in their possession, and left them on the floor near the bed. After spotting the one she'd dropped, he came to collect that one too.

Crossing her arms above her belly, Astrid decided to watch with a scowl. Talking to the dragon clearly didn't help and she currently wasn't in any position to physically wrestle him, there was little else she could do.

She found herself barely suppressing a groan when Toothless then started moving chairs and the table to make room for the bed in the middle.

She was too tired for this. Gothi told her it wouldn't take much longer before the baby would be here and that she needed to rest before her due date would inevitably come. Hiccup, too, was trying to tie up any loose ends and taking care of business so the other Riders, Valka, and Gobber could take care of things in their absence. He planned to spend at least the next two weeks at home. That is, if he failed to make his free-time longer than the fourteen days he already planned on taking.

Her back was aching and she remembered the stew that was probably already lukewarm by now. Astrid just wanted a quiet afternoon. Or sleep. By the lack of movement, she knew the baby was certainly napping.

"Your uncle Toothless is crazy." She still muttered, a hand on her belly. A big part of her was sure the baby was going to be a girl. Hiccup shared her suspicions. And speaking of which...

"So is your dad, he probably gets it from him." She added as an afterthought. It was better that their daughter knew now, she was going to find out sooner or later.

When the bed was exactly where Toothless wanted it to be, he grabbed the pile of furs next and dropped them on the bed. He didn't leave them lying there as a heap, he moved them around, rearranged them in such a way that made the bed look even more inviting than it already did.

Once he deemed it finished, Toothless cheerfully roared at Astrid, who stared at him in confusion.

"Uhm, Tooth?" The Night Fury approached and gently bumped into the Chieftess' back with the flat top of his head, urging her onwards. Soon standing next to the bed, Toothless than proceeded to pat the many furs in an almost human-like manner.

It was then that it all started to make sense to her.

Removing all the food he deemed "old" and "bad", removing the bed from upstairs to a more readily available location, creating a soft nest with all the furs he could possibly find... Night Furies apparently possessed a strong sense to nest even if they weren't the ones expecting. She was seeing similar behaviour in Stormfly, who insisted on preening her every opportunity she got.

Toothless relished at the thought of a soon to come baby, a new member to their strange family, and he believed he was doing his part to help them out. He wanted Astrid to have a good "nest" to have their baby in.

A smile appeared on her face, despite the messy state their house was now in.

"You and Hiccup both drive me crazy sometimes, you know that?" Astrid asked, scratching the dragon's chin like she'd seen her husband do numerous times before.

Astrid would never admit to having a slightly harder time getting in bed. She was already wearing more comfortable clothing, they were easier to move in, but the many layers helped the furniture reach a few additional inches in height.

Leaning back against the pillows already there, Astrid let out a sigh. It shouldn't take Hiccup much longer to come home and Toothless should be content now. Peace and quiet could finally return.

Or so she thought.

Peace and quiet did return, but not before the large Night Fury joined the human woman in bed, lying down in a way that she could only call protective, tail wrapped around them. Scooting over to lean back against his side, Astrid settled again and took her white cloak back to drape over herself, legs crossing.

She got why Hiccup liked to sleep next to his dragon. So far up North, he was a warm home, it was why she'd often slept in a similar way next to her Nadder.

Noticing she'd moved, Toothless moved the pillows to surround the human, causing a chuckle to leave Astrid's vocals.

"You know, I may actually prefer you over Hiccup if he doesn't come back soon." Astrid spoke and Toothless let out a short chortle.

Now comfortable, Astrid proceeded to undo the complex braid she'd done in her hair that morning. Sinking deeper into the sea of pillows, furs, and dragon, she then allowed herself to relax and closed her eyes.

"You don't mind if I have some shut-eye, do you, Bud? I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks." She asked and Toothless gave her a purr. She would never have as close a bond to the Night Fury of Berk as Hiccup did, but she could still tell that he was telling her "get some rest" as he laid his head down.

Shooting the dragon one final smile, Astrid settled for the last time and let herself fall asleep. Toothless followed her soon enough.

They slept the rest of the day and even the night away. Come morning, the two woke up to find that Hiccup had soundlessly joined them sometime during their slumber, too.


End file.
